Ask HN: How do you find out more on a company work environment before applying?

4 points by alinalex 9 years ago | 4 comments

Hey there,

I’m a self-taught web developer and I think that before applying to a company (someone that is not Google, Facebook, you name it) there is no much information about the company itself. The about pages are pretty scarce in information and are mostly cliche bullshit. That’s why I thought of reaching out to companies and ask them for an interview or a discussion about them as a team.

So, now I’m trying to find out if you guys have the same feeling as me and you would love to find out more about: - how that company works in terms of workflow - how is the atmosphere as in they usually have ping pong competitions on Fridays or something like that - something that the company believes is specific to them - why should you join them and not because they change the world, everybody says that

If you do want to read about these kind of things then please subscribe here > http://eepurl.com/cFBioD to the email list, so that I can gauge your interest and move forward with the initiative and start contacting companies.

Also, feel free to recommend in the comments any company you would like to find out more about and which specific questions would you like me to ask them.

Thanks and I can’t wait for your feedback!

tedmiston 9 years ago |

Getting a reliable pulse on the culture before joining is definitely an important problem to solve.

Ideally try to find someone you know who works there or has worked there. If that doesn't exist then a second-degree connection might. Your LinkedIn connections are a good place to check.

For an early stage company, this will be difficult, especially if you are hire 1-10. In that case I would try to make inferences from the founder's resumes based on where they worked prior (eg defense industry, big co, startup, agency) and in what roles. Culture doesn't appear out of thin air and is influenced by our history, so this can be useful info to keep in mind.

JSeymourATL 9 years ago |

> The about pages are pretty scarce in information...

View any online sources with healthy skepticism, especially media stories and Glassdoor reviews. It's seldom as good/bad as it appears.

THE only true way to get an insiders take on a company and culture is go talk to them. More specifically, you want to speak with individuals at all levels/departments. People will open up more away from the office, over lunch or a beer. Then you'll begin to see a portrait of what the place is really like.

bsvalley 9 years ago |

Apply. Then, ask the recruiter, he or she will answer your questions during a 30 minute chat on the phone. It's the first step of the process. If you make it onsite you'll get a tour of the office and will be able to ask tones of questions to your interviewers.

uwed 9 years ago |

Check out glassdoor as they have thousands of companies listed with reviews by current and ex employees. Take the reviews with a pinch of salt as you can imagine that someone who got fired might not be in the best mindset to leave a review ;)